Preview: NBL24 Round 17 v Melbourne United at Nissan Arena

Melbourne United remain the only team the Brisbane Bullets are yet to beat this NBL season but that chance presents tonight back at Nissan Arena with the home team out to consolidate a top four position.

Round 17 of the NBL will see the Bullets play just the one game with the Friday night match up against the league-leading Melbourne United.

From the 12 games that the Bullets have won so far this season, they have beaten the Adelaide 36ers, Cairns Taipans, Illawarra Hawks, New Zealand Breakers, Perth Wildcats, South East Melbourne Phoenix, Sydney Kings and Tasmania JackJumpers all at least once. An opportunity is now presenting for the Bullets to defeat United and  further lock themselves into a top four position.

The Bullets come into Round 17 of NBL24 sitting in fourth place with a 12-12 record on the back of winning five of the past six matches to only be just behind the third placed JackJumpers (12-11), and also just ahead of the Kings (11-12), Taipans (11-13), Breakers (9-12) and Hawks (9-12).

That sets up a fascinating contest with the Bullets hosting a United team still sitting in top spot with a 16-6 record but having lost three of their past five matches as they prepare to play a sixth consecutive match away from home.

The two teams have already played one another twice this season with both taking place at John Cain Arena. The first meeting was back on October 15 where Melbourne won by 11 points despite an encouraging finish from the Bullets.

The more recent clash was on December 10 where United beat the Bullets 103-68 with Melbourne taking out their frustrations on Brisbane following a loss the previous week to the Taipans.

It's a similar scenario this Friday night with Melbourne coming off a 21-point loss last Friday night in Hobart to the JackJumpers while being without point guard Shea Ili and centre Jo Lual-Acuil.

That was Melbourne's biggest loss of the season and if last time was anything to go by, they will arrive at Nissan Arena determined to not lose consecutive matches for the first time this season.

However, there's no shortage of motivation at the Bullets either as they look to remain inside a top four position with Hostplus Brisbane Bullets Head Coach Justin Schueller looking for a first win against the team he was a long-time assistant coach with.

"They've locked in a playoff spot and we know that at some point there's a chance to go through them to achieve what we want to achieve," Schueller said.

"So there is that element of having a playoff type game prior to the moment, but for us really it is about still getting better. There's growth areas for us at this stage of the season that we want to improve on, and that's where our mindset will go."

Schueller is glad that it looks like a full squad will be available after having to deal with players coming in and out right throughout the season.

"We've only had our full team against Cairns so far this season so to go against another opponent with that is going to be great," Schueller said.

"What's been the most pleasing thing has been that we've had different things happen throughout this little period, but different people have stepped up. Now that we are a whole the exciting part is can we continuing doing our job and continue to the level that we want.

"The little bits of adversity we've dealt with through the year has definitely put us in a better position at this time of year where anything can kind of happen. What we're trying to focus on is staying in the moment and controlling what we can.

"While it's a cliché it's really real for us and we haven’t locked in a playoff spot yet, and have to take care of every game down the stretch. That's a great place to be and we get to control our destiny so I'm excited for the group to be out there, and taking steps forward is what we want to see."

Bullets captain Nathan Sobey is looking forward to hopefully having a full team on board to take on United and he's looking forward to the challenge against the league-leaders.

"It's good to have everyone ready to go and everyone is feeling good so it will be good to have our team at full strength for sure," Sobey said.

"They did touch us up twice in those first two games down there and really were able to push that last one out on us at the end. We'll be looking to get back home and play the best basketball we can to come out and get the win.

"This is why you play, obviously down the stretch at the end of the season and we have a lot to play for. But at the same time we have a great group and I'm really enjoying what we're doing on a daily basis, and continuing to build from that. This is another step for us to head in the right direction."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs Melbourne United

Tip off: 6:30pm (AEST), Friday 26 January, 2024

Where: Nissan Arena

Tickets: Available Here

Watch: ESPN via Foxtel and Kayo